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I am pleased to have recently completed the business plan for an agency serving youth athletes with asthma. The 3-year plan included an assessment of the asthma situation from a national, state, county and city level to identify target areas in high-need, under-served areas. The plan identified potential clients and partners and strategies to provide asthma education and devices for youth athletes and their families and athletic and school personnel. The plan included program logic models for each of the programs, a budget, evaluation plan and implementation plan. The agency is now in a position to develop the necessary infrastructure to sustain itself for the long term, and to make the case for funding. I wish them well.

Survey Results are In!

The University of Illinois at Chicago has partnered with the North Lawndale community to submit a bid to build the Obama Presidential Library on the West Side of Chicago. Two sites are being considered—one on the UIC campus and the other in North Lawndale, on the corner of Roosevelt and Kostner. We have conducted an informal survey of Westside stakeholders to get a sense for the level of support for the Proposed Obama Presidential Library in North Lawndale. Surveys were sent by email, and posted on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, through a town hall meeting and on our website. More

Make sure to “Like” the North Lawndale Presidential Library page and encourage your Facebook friends to do the same. You will get updates and be able to have conversations with other fans and North Lawndale stakeholders. Please, encourage your Facebook friends to “like” and share this page as well.

Visit Our Website!

Our website went live on December 7, 2014. When you visit, you will get an overview of the North Lawndale bid, learn about other Presidential Libraries, be able to give feedback about the proposed Presidential Library in North Lawndale, see our Twitter feed and get other updates. Please, visit the website the Chicago Way–early and often! You are encouraged to follow our blogs to get instant updates every time a new blog article is posted.

I got the following information from the North Lawndale Presidential Library Committee.

We’re Taking This
Show on the Road!

We will be meeting with organizations, churches and schools throughout the North Lawndale community and West Side. We will provide information on the Presidential Libraries, answer frequently asked questions and look for ways we may sponsor joint activities to engage your constituents in promoting the UIC-North Lawndale proposal for the Obama Presidential Library. Here is a link to the video of the standard presentation. We will tailor meetings to suit your needs. For further information, email Marcus De La Fleur at nlpresidentiallibrary@gmail.com.

Chicago aldermanic hopefuls running in the West Side’s crowded 24th Ward race made their pitch to voters at a Tuesday night candidate forum, with many vowing to, if elected, boost employment and economic opportunities in the North Lawndale community.

…in the audience was Paul Norrington, founder of the North Lawndale Presidential Library Committee, which partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago on a proposal to bring the Obama Presidential Library to North Lawndale. While many of the aldermanic contenders talked about the need for economic development in the ward, few addressed the “game-changing” potential library site and the future community benefits and challenges associated with it, Norrington noted.

If “we get the library, whoever the alderman is, there are also dangers that come with that, because gentrification will follow,” he explained. “What are their plans on dealing with that gentrification issue? There will be plenty of opportunities coming to the ward. How will that be managed? Whoever is the alderman this next term, they’re going to have a big job just because of the library, and I hope that they can focus in on that.”

Chicago mayoral and 24th Ward aldermanic hopefuls spoke to West Side residents at a Tuesday night candidate forum. Progress Illinois was there for the event. Photo from Progress Illinois. Story by Ellyn Fortino.

UNIVERSITY VILLAGE — UIC wants to build over part of the Eisenhower Expy. as part of its bid to construct a two-site Obama Presidential Library on the city’s West Side.

Last week, the University of Illinois at Chicago submitted a comprehensive proposal to host the Obama Presidential Library. The proposal was submitted in conjunction with the Steans Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the North Lawndale community. More

A UIC rendering shows what the east-west corridor would
look like from Downtown under the university’s proposal to
host the Obama Presidential Library. Photo: UIC Media

UIC hopes to connect its campus with the West Side of Chicago, going to City
Limits. The proposed development includes 2 sites–one on UIC’s campus and
one in North Lawndale at Roosevelt and Kostner. The Library and related
infrastructure improvements could potentially impact an area that would reach
about 1 mile north of I-290 at its northernmost point, and about 2 blocks south of
Douglas Park at its southernmost point. Photo: Curbed Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has publicly unveiled its bid for the future Obama Presidential Library. In its proposal, the university wants to bring the institution to the near-south and west sides of the city in a large two-location project. The first site is on UIC’s campus near the northwest corner of Harrison and Halsted and the second location is in North Lawndale, near the northeast corner of Roosevelt and Kostner. More

The North Lawndale
Presidential Library Committee Town Hall Meeting on CAN TV

Below are the dates, times and channels the Obama Presidential Library video will be cablecast on CAN TV.

Sunday, December 28th, 9:00 AM, Channel 21

Monday, December 29th, 10:30 AM, Channel 19

Tuesday, December 30th, 2:30 PM, Channel 21

We recommend you watch for our program announcement in the week prior to the first cablecast by signing up here for CAN TV’s weekly e-newsletter, “This Week on CAN TV.” The newsletter goes out to several thousand people, and we invite you to forward it to your list as well. If you do additional promotion in advance of the cablecast, please refer to the channels as “cable channel CAN TV21 (or CAN TV19) in Chicago.” Link to the video here. We ask that you leave comments on YouTube and share in your networks.

I thank Sandra Glenn, Program Director, Prevention Force Family Center, for sharing the following information regarding the RISE program.

The Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) is soliciting applications from qualified and interested Respondents for providers who are able to administer the Restoring Individuals through Supportive Environments (R.I.S.E.) program. RISE is a 6-month diversion program for youth that provides intensive mentoring and opportunities for skill-building for justice-involved youth through a 4-month curriculum focused on civic engagement and restorative justice.

DFSS launched a pilot at the Juvenile Intervention Support Center to provide a
community-based intensive mentoring and skill-building diversion program. The
program utilizes a standardized curriculum to empower youth through skill building and intensive mentoring to address barriers to their success. The program is designed for justice-involved males (minimum of two arrests) between the ages of 15 and 17. In 2015, the pilot program is being expanded to provide services to youth in additional communities throughout the city of Chicago. This program will be part of a randomized control trial to evaluate the impacts of the program components on youth outcomes.

This program will expand the eligible youth population for referral to include designated police districts and community-based agencies. Youth identified for participation will receive services in the communities where they live or can easily access to reduce barriers to participation. The goal of this intervention is to reduce rates of re-arrest due to involvement in incidents of violence among program participants and increase their connection to pro-social activities (academics, sports, arts, etc.) and institutions in their neighborhoods (school, community organizations, etc).